Good Bike for the Money

I was looking to get back into biking to lose some weight and I had been given a cheap hard tail Huffy. The huffy was rough to drive and not very comfy even after replacing the seat. So I decided to spend some money since the biking was not just a couple week fad.
I searched for a a bike with dual suspension, light and reliable. I chose the kent because of its style and other reviews over a mongoose of similar price. The kent rides great and the weight difference had a bigger impact than expected. I replaced the seat which I always recommend, me being in my mid thirties. I noticed for the same trail I ride, I was much less tired out with the kent. The gears shift very smooth (i did have to adjust some of the gears (expected after shipping)). Very sturdy overall. The only bad I can add right now is that I wish you could lift the handle bars. I'm just over 6', so it would be nice, although it is nearly perfect already. I would like to move it only an inch higher. So I totally recommend if you don't want to spend over $200 on a bike, yet don't want a cheap Walmart bike either....

Good but not Great!!!!

I got this bike base on the review i read online. This bike is for someone that just wants to ride a bike not for advance mountain biking. Also I feel the products on this bike this very cheap made. I am going to ride the bike for a week, might be returning it.

Kent Trail Machine a good value

I got this bike back in early winter. The "manual" that comes with it is nearly useless and contains little, if any model-specific info. Some assembly is required (front wheel, handlebars, pedals) so if you are not comfortable doing mechanical work on bicycles call a friend who is, or take it to a neighborhood bicycle shop. The linear-pull brakes will also need some adjustment.

I assembled the bike and waited for warmer weather. Spring brought riding weather and out I went. Nice ride. No, it's not a $1000. mountain bike, but if you don't need cutting edge stuff you'll be just as happy as the guy on the $1000. bike. This is a very good value for the price. Previously I only had 10-speed racers but always wanted to try a mountain bike. After 15 years without a bicycle ride (yeah, I'm kinda old, switched to motorcycles for a dozen years or so) I took the plunge with this model. I am 5ft-9in tall and this bike fits me just fine. It's not as light as the more expensive bikes but it's not too heavy either (frame is aluminum). The swing-arm pivot joint is suspiciously large, perhaps to overcome a design weakness, but reassuringly strong-looking. At first I thought I would need a more comfortable seat but tilting it one click forward and raising it a bit did the trick. I can live with it for now. Adjust the seat post so that your knee is almost (but not quite) straight when the pedal is at the bottom of your stroke and the seat should be OK. I still may try a more comfy seat, some day.

The wheels on my bike were not quite true, and the linear-pull brakes wanted more advanced tweaking than I was comfortable doing (the return springs needed to be hand-bent for more tension), so I took mine to the local bicycle shop. Spokes were tensioned, wheels trued (tuned to spin perfectly straight, no wobble), and he adjusted the brakes to near perfection while giving the whole thing the once-over. $36. well spent.

On the road I was smiling. The suspension works pretty well and the bike shifts very nicely with no additional adjustments needed. Twist-click-shift. Brakes are more than adequate when properly adjusted. On pavement the knobby tires will sing to you at full speed and talk to you at slower speeds. If you go off road the knobbies will be welcome but if you ride only on pavement you might be happier with smoother tread tires.

I am delighted with the ability to go off-road and ride over most terrain, it's a blast. And I can now laugh at curbs, potholes, and pebbles that used to make me tremble with fear when riding a 10-speed racer with its skinny, vulnerable tires. I never dreamed of riding a 10-speed racer in the woods but now I look for trails to ride on off road, and this bike handles that just fine.

The poor manual is no biggie really. Even a good one would not help much more, really, since even a good one wouldn't cover everything in detail. Bikes are pretty generic in nature. If you want to do your own maintenance then buy a bicycle book with diagrams in it. A chain is a chain, and there are only a few different types of brakes and shifters. The book will show you how to do everything, but still have an expert tune your wheels for you. It probably will only have to be done once so why bother learning how?

If you want a mountain bike, but do not want the cheap kind (kid's bike, one-piece crank, cheap brakes) or the high-end (read: really expensive) kind, I can recommend this Kent Trail Machine model. I like mine a lot.

Good Deal For Dual Suspension

I just got back from the first ride. I took advice from other reviews. The first thing is the rear derailer. I replaced it right away with a lower end yet much better shimano one than it came with. Then there is the seat. It is not horrible, but was not very good either. Not friendly on the man parts if you know what I mean.. This was fixed by a gel seat cover on sale for $10. The front wheel was out of true fairly badly, so another $10 to true it. The back wheel was a tiny bit out of true, but not enough to worry about for now. I can tweak gears and brakes myself so I adjusted and tuned them perfectly, and it is not hard just have patience. The pedals are plastic but for commute riding, so what.. The bike is not light, yet not really heavy either. I road the bike for about 5 miles going around town, up and down hills and curbs, etc. The shifting worked well, and the suspension is adequate for an inexpensive bike. I am very happy for the price. The frame is nice and the components are as to be expected at a price like this. Those of you who wrote terrible reviews must look at the "you get what you pay for" factor. For a little more $ invested I tuned this into a great around town and light to medium trail riding. This is not for the mnt bike guru, but is better than paying way more at a bike shop. I would highly recommend it as long as you or a friend of yours can tinker with bikes a bit.

Falling apart within the first month, not big enough for a man, gears slip

* Pedal fell off within the first week.
* Gear cluster started making loud noise on each revolution, in the first month.
* Gears routinely shift by themselves - I have hurt myself a few times with a knee into the handlebars when the gears slipped.
* This is not a "Men's" bike - I am an average 5'10", and even with the seat extended an inch beyond the max line, I have to stand up another 2-3 inches to get my leg straight.